Colour pictures from the 1960s
I came late to colour, because it was so much more expensive when I was a teenager on pocket money; indeed, I continued to use b&w for several more years. And, alas, only 20 of the slides survived an accident.
Technical details: Taken on Agfa 35mm slide film with a Zorki camera.
All images Copyright Steve Banks, no unauthorised use.
An image that got lost. B1 No 61250 A. Harold Bibby (IMM) approaches Leeds Central station on 2nd January 1965 with the morning express from Cleethorpes. It returned at 4pm. This was a classic secondary express usually made up with 4 gangwayed carriages, strengthened to 5 on a Saturday. On this day they were all BR Mk.1s. A strengthening Thompson was common, picture below of D.1832.
Click on the image for an enlargement
A scene at Leeds Central in 1965 as Fairburn 2-6-4T No 42052 pulls out with the empty stock of an express. They took over from J50 tanks that had recently been withdrawn.
For businessmen travelling between London and the great industrial conurbation of Yorkshire's West Riding, there used to be an LNER streamlined express, similar to the "Coronation", called the "West Riding Limited".
After the War and withdrawal of the streamliners, a modified form of the name was handed down to the fastest express in this service as "The West Riding" and here is the Down train pulling into Leeds Central behind D9000 Royal Scots Grey. It's mid-winter and the train's arrival is almost straight out of the morning sun. The underslung signals were required for better visibility in what was, of necessity, a relatively short station, the approach throttled by a bridge over the River Aire.
Another winter's view, this time of a departure from Leeds Central - and carrying mixed messages. The Deltic is D9016 Gordon Highlander and it's in charge of a West Riding express - IE10, the 12.14pm Leeds Central-King's Cross. Carriages from Bradford will be attached en route at Wakefield. However, the roller blind has failed; it was quite a common occurrence and it is displaying a previous working: a Newcastle-KX express. As a result, double lights per the Express code are being carried, one over each buffer.
One of two views of the little-known turntable at Leeds Central, behind the station's signal box. The Deltic is alas unidentified. 1965
A semi-broadside view of the turntable at Leeds Central. 1965.
B1 No 61392, once allocated to Doncaster, now Canklow, sets back into Leeds City station before departing with a parcels train. To spare the general viewer, a slight enlargement of this picture appears under "BR period parcels trains" with details about the vans deployed here.
Scenes like this became increasingly common in the years before steam ended, especially with itinerant locos like this. Black 4 No 15154, formerly named Lananarkshire Yeomanry, had been allocated in Scotland, then Newton Heath. Its stay at Holbeck was brief. It is seen here passing the depot at the end of its duty to cross over the running lines before backing into the depot.
The sun begins to set on a fine but typically smoky evening at Holbeck. Local people knew when to hang out the washing only when the wind was blowing in the right direction, and when snow fell, it didn't stay white for long. Black Five No 45354 from Lancaster stands in front of the double roundhouse. The viaduct carrying the Leeds City-Manchester line is in the background. 2nd January 1965.
Yet clean locos were still to be seen, as this recently out-shopped example at Holbeck in April 1965 shows. Ex-LMS Black 5 No 45247 was a visitor from Holyhead. Behind it stands a pair of snow ploughs, each facing in opposite directions. Leeds is on the edge of the Pennines and before the advent of global warming, heavy snow was common in winter.
Breasting the summit at Wortley in that wonderful two-tone livery with the early morning express from Cleethorpes-Leeds Central, is one of the first recorded cases of diesel haulage on this service and brand-new D1882 in charge of the five-coach train (actually four plus a Saturday strengthener). Location is Wortley South Jc., just south of Copley Hill depot.
Here too the roller blind has failed, hence the odd letters and dots, as a result of which express lights are being carried over the buffers. See also the pictures of D9016 leaving Leeds Central.
On the gantry, the signal is "off" for the line into Leeds Central. The other routes were into the loco depot and, via the west chord, to Bradford Exchange (as used latterly by portions from King's Cross, detached at Wakefield and taken on). 10th July 1965
D1882 as seen here was just 8 days old. It became 47363 and, for a while, named Billingham Enterprise, eventually going into store at Carnforth, and cut up in 2010.
To be continued....
